Review of Selwyn Kātene, ed., Let Their Light So Shine: Mormon Leaders in New Zealand (Wellington, NZ: Huia Publishers, 2021). “Foreword” by Charles A. Rudd (pp. vii–viii); “Preface” by Peter Lineham (p. ix–x); “Introduction” by Selwyn Kātene (pp. 1–3); “Contributors” (pp. 215–18); “Glossary” (and “Mormon Terms”) (pp. 219–21); “Index” (pp. 222–30). NZ $30.00 Hardbound.

Abstract: This is a review of the third in the series of books of essays on what Selwyn Kātene again calls “Mormon Leaders in New Zealand.” This volume as at least as excellent, if not even better, than the other two volumes, which received very favorable reviews. Every effort must be made to preserve and publish an accurate history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand/Aotearoa. Such effort is to be praised, especially when it is set out in such a handsome and exceptionally well-edited and published version as one finds in this entire valuable series. Despite this and the two other previous volumes in this series, there are yet more Latter-day Saints whose stories of faith and dedicated service in building the Kingdom of God in this beautiful land must be told in future volumes of this truly remarkable series.

Let Their Light So Shine is the third in an excellent series of books edited by Selwyn Kātene, each of which has featured twelve faithful Latter-day Saints in New Zealand. The first volume in this series was entitled Turning the Hearts of the Children1 and the second was By Their [Page 270]Fruits You Will Know Them.2 Even though the first two volumes were published by Steele Roberts, and this most recent volume is published by Huia Publishers,3 all three volumes have exactly the same format and first-rate book binding.4 Interested individuals and also especially libraries in both New Zealand and the United States should be very pleased with the high quality of the volumes in this exceptional series.5

Selwyn Kātene draws the title for this volume from the true story of how Elder William Gardner, a Latter-day Saint missionary from Utah,

Presented at:

2014 Temple on Mount Zion ConferenceSaturday, October 25, 2014https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2014-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

The Temple: Ancient and Restored at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-ancient-and-restored/

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In the February 19 Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Bruce Webster, Kris Frederickson, and Martin Tanner discuss New Testament lesson 12, “I Will Give You Rest,” covering Matthew 11–12, and Luke 11.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the February 19 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). The other segments of the February 19 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-february-19-2023.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. Call in to 801-254-1640 with your questions and comments during the live show.

 

Original air date: February 19, 2023. This recording has been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.

 

 

In this episode, our hosts Steve Densley and Mark Johnson are joined by Jan Francisco and Jeff Lindsay to discuss Jan’s recent article in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, “Elias: Prophet of the Restoration.” You can listen to or download the February 26th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. These audio tracks will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast):

The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show, for Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 13, covering Matthew 13, Luke 8, and Luke 13, will be posted on Tuesday, February 14.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. Call in to 801-254-1640 with your questions and comments during the live show.

Original air date: February 26, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

General Discussion: The Six Days in August film project, and Dan’s recent article “”Beautiful Patience”

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.

 

Readers should be aware that both Khor Kharfot and Wadi Sayq are now protected sites under Omani law. Neither area can be visited without a permit issued by the government of Oman. They are not accessible by road at any point. Please contact the author if further clarification is needed.

Abstract: In May 2022, George Potter published an article that makes the most comprehensive case to date that Khor Rori in southern Oman is the most likely location for the place “Bountiful” described by Nephi. However, despite its many positives, there are a number of reasons to question the suitability of Khor Rori and to favor the other major candidate for Bountiful, Khor Kharfot. I propose that a careful reading of Nephi’s account coupled with recent discoveries based on field work show Khor Kharfot to be a superior candidate meeting all criteria we can extract from the text. To support a thorough comparison, aspects of both candidates are weighed, including pictorial comparisons of key features. I am in full agreement with Potter that with the entire eastern coast of Arabia now explored, only two candidates for Bountiful remain in contention — Khor Rori and Khor Kharfot. No other location still merits serious consideration.

In Nephi’s account of his family’s journey from Jerusalem to the Promised Land in the New World, one location plays a particularly prominent role. Nephi names this location Bountiful (1 Nephi 18:1), and it has been the quest of several individuals (including myself) to determine the real-world location of Bountiful. Following extensive exploration, there are two candidates for this location — Khor Rori and Khor Kharfot. I have been the chief proponent of the latter location, while George Potter has been the proponent of the former. Both locations are located in southern Oman, a region that fits comfortably with the Nephi’s account of travel and locations along Lehi’s Trail, as roughly shown in Figure 1. The numbered locations in Figure 1 correspond to: 1) three days of travel (from the borders of the Red Sea) to the Valley of Lemuel; 2) travel in a “nearly south-southeast direction”; 3) four days of travel to Shazer; 4) “many days” travel in the “same direction”; 5) mountains near the Red Sea; 6) “many days”; 7) “nearly the same course”; 8) at or near Nahom; and 9) “nearly eastward” to Bountiful.

[Page 220]

Khor Rori, a site in southern Oman that is the subject of Potter’s recent article advocating it as a candidate for Bountiful,1 is a fascinating place of great beauty, with one view provided in Figure 2. Since my first visit there in 1987, I have visited often over the years, watching the progress of the ongoing excavations and restoration of the fortress city of Sumhurum that sits above the bay. No one doubts the historical significance of Khor Rori, especially in its role in trade since the late first century bc. I have explored the area many times — the ruins, the bay and its cliffs, and particularly its access wadi, Wadi Darbat, with its waterfalls, small lake, and rivers in the upper reach of the wadi.

While Khor Kharfot is also a fascinating place, its beauty and features are of a different kind. See, for example, the view from Google Earth provided in Figure 3 and the photograph in Figure 4. It is isolated by its surrounding terrain, today being accessed mostly by sea. The only land access is through Wadi Sayq, which leads through the steep Qamar mountains to the desert plateau; its beginning now lies in a restricted area at the Yemen border eastwards of Nahom. The inlet mouth of the wadi that is named Khor Kharfot is...

Presented at:

2014 Temple on Mount Zion ConferenceSaturday, October 25, 2014https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2014-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

The Temple: Ancient and Restored at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-ancient-and-restored/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording

 

 

In the February 12 Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and Kevin Christensen discuss New Testament lesson 11, “These Twelve Jesus Sent Forth,” covering Matthew 9–10, Mark 5, and Luke 9.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the February 12 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). The other segments of the January 8 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-february-12-2023.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. Call in to 801-254-1640 with your questions and comments during the live show.

 

Original air date: February 12, 2023. This recording has been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.

 

Abstract: The Prophet Elias is a puzzle, with a handful of pieces scattered through the standard works and the teachings of Joseph Smith. Rather than proving a point conclusively, this paper will put the pieces together to show a new picture of this important figure. The interpretation in this article weaves together the scriptures regarding Elias into a cohesive narrative, with the prophet Noah at the center. The pieces of the puzzle investigated here are Elias’s role as the angel Gabriel in the New Testament, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Kirtland Temple, in the Book of Revelation, and in D&C 27. These few visitations occur during significant transfers of priesthood power. Elias — the keyholder — is identified as holding “the keys of bringing to pass the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began, concerning the last days” (D&C 27:6). This vast calling of restoring all things in the last days requires the original Elias (Noah) at the heavenly helm and various agents of Elias (John the Baptist and John the Beloved, among others) working on the earth during different phases of the restoration.

Scholarship on Elias relies on a limited pool of primary source material, so it is understandable how scholars are left to ultimately conclude: “When Elias, the man, lived, and what he did in his life, must for the present remain in the field of conjecture.”1 This paper is an attempt at viewing the prophet Elias with a lens that unifies the scriptural sources in a cohesive narrative with the prophet named Elias at the center of all the work done in his name by different actors in different dispensations. This is a different interpretation than the one found in the Bible Dictionary and other publications from The Church of Jesus Christ of [Page 198]Latter-day Saints.2 Rather than a Greek model of making a point and then proving that point, this essay follows the Hebraic path of finding relevant details in a spirit of curiosity and investigation. The resulting web of information and interpretation presents an interesting paradigm shift of who Elias could be and how he is working in our time.

Elias is the Greek version of Elijah, an ancient Hebrew name meaning “the Lord is God” or “Jehovah is God.”3 El means God and Yah means Jehovah or Lord. Both names have the same origin and etymology — Eliyyahu in Hebrew is Elijah in English and Elias in Greek. Most Bible translations have replaced all “Elias” references with “Elijah,” thus erasing a separate Elias from Christianity.4 Without the revelations from Joseph Smith regarding a prophet named Elias, he would be totally forgotten.

While there are times when it is obvious that the subject in the New Testament is the prophet Elijah, there are many references (especially in the Joseph Smith Translation) that should not be changed to Elijah, most in connection with John the Baptist and on the Mount of Transfiguration.

While the rest of the world has erased Elias, Joseph Smith’s teachings have kept him in our religiou...

Presented at:

2014 Temple on Mount Zion ConferenceSaturday, October 25, 2014https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2014-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

The Temple: Ancient and Restored at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-ancient-and-restored/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording

 

 

In this episode of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts are Bruce Webster, Kris Frederickson, and Martin Tanner. You can listen to or download the February 19th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. These audio tracks are also included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast).

The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show, for Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 12, covering Matthew 11–12 and Luke 11, will be posted on Tuesday, March 7.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. Call in to 801-254-1640 with your questions and comments during the live show.

Original air date: February 19, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

Restoration Advocacy: Falibility of Church leaders: including the Adam-God Doctrine and Blood Atonement

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.